High drama as Jan. 6 hearing details Trump's effort to corrupt Justice Department

Former DOJ officials described how they resisted Trump's relentless pressure.

ByLibby Cathey and Alexandra Hutzler
Last Updated: August 4, 2022, 5:37 PM EDT

Thursday's hearing of the Jan. 6 committee focused on the pressure then-President Donald Trump and his allies put on the Justice Department to help overturn the 2020 election.

Here is how the hearing unfolded:

Jun 23, 2022, 3:10 PM EDT

Chair convenes hearing on Trump's 'brazen attempt' to pressure DOJ

Three former top officials in the Justice Department -- former acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen, former deputy acting attorney general Richard Donoghue and former top DOJ lawyer Steven Engel -- sat before lawmakers Thursday as Committee Chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., convened the fifth public hearing this month.

"Today, we'll tell the story of how the pressure campaign also targeted the federal agency charged with enforcement of our laws, the Department of Justice," Thompson said, going to call it "a brazen attempt to use the Justice Department to advance the president's professional and personal agenda."

Chairman U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson participates in the opening public hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., June 9, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

All three witnesses are expected to detail how they resisted Trump and his allies' repeated entreaties to enlist the Justice Department in his failed bid to overturn his election loss.

Jun 23, 2022, 2:51 PM EDT

Rep. Adam Kinzinger to lead hearing

Rep. Adam Kinzinger will lead questioning in today’s hearing, committee aides confirmed to reporters. Kinzinger is one of the two Republicans on the nine-member committee.

"The threat to our democracy is real. And today, we'll see just how close we came to losing it all," Kinzinger tweeted ahead of the hearing. "Tune in as we uncover President Trump’s pressure campaign on [the Justice Department] in his desperate attempt to subvert the will of the people to stay in power."

Rep. Adam Kinzinger looks on during a House Select Committee hearing to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol, in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on June 9, 2022.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Jun 23, 2022, 2:27 PM EDT

Filmmaker with new Trump footage sits for deposition

British documentary filmmaker Alex Holder sat for a deposition with the committee earlier Thursday after a subpoena commanded him to turn over documentary footage -- never-seen publicly -- filmed for a series on Trump's final months in office.

"I have no further comment at this time other than to say that our conversation today was thorough and I appreciated the opportunity to share more context about my project," Holder said in a statement to ABC News.

PHOTO: U.S. Representative Pete Aguilar, Committee Chairperson Rep. Bennie Thompson and Committee Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, attend a public hearing to investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the US Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 16, 2022.
Members of the U.S. House Select Committee, U.S. Representative Pete Aguilar, Committee Chairperson Rep. Bennie Thompson and Committee Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, attend the third of eight planned public hearings to investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 16, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Holder was "given unparalleled access and exclusive interviews with President Trump, Ivanka, Eric, and Don Jr., Jared Kushner as well as Vice President Pence; in the White House, Mar-A-Lago, behind-the-scenes on the campaign trail, and before and after the events of January 6th," according to a statement from his spokesperson.

He received a subpoena last Thursday from the committee to turn over footage shot for his documentary series and submitted the materials requested earlier this week.

-ABC News Ali Dukakis

Jun 23, 2022, 2:37 PM EDT

House GOP leader dodges questions on Trump, integrity of 2020 election

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., at a news conference Thursday dodged questions about endorsing Trump in 2024 and whether there was any widespread election fraud in the 2020 election.

McCarthy also said he had no regrets about not allowing Republicans to serve on the Jan. 6 committee. Trump has said McCarthy made a "foolish" mistake by refusing to allow Republican members to join the panel after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked several of his picks.

"I do not regret not appointing anybody at all," McCarthy told reporters.

There are two Republicans serving on the House panel: Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. The two outspoken Trump critics were appointed by Pelosi.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel

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